A gym membership card in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet: check-in, renewal and freezes
A digital gym membership card is a pass in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet that shows when the membership ends, and the front desk scans it with a phone camera, or the member holds their phone to an entrance reader, to check them in. Members need no app and no plastic card. When they renew or freeze, the same card on their phone gets the new date.
This guide is for gyms, fitness clubs and training studios. It covers the whole path: the membership plan, issuing the card, check-in, renewal and freezes.
What a digital membership card is
It is an ordinary wallet pass that carries the membership's end date and, if you sold it that way, a number of visits. It has your gym's name, logo and colours, and members save it to the Apple Wallet or Google Wallet already on their phone.
The end date sits in a custom "valid until" field. That is not the wallet's own expiry date, so the card does not drop into the wallet's expired passes when the membership runs out. It stays where it is, ready to be renewed.
The card proves that a membership is valid and records each visit. It does not replace a booking system for classes or sessions, if you use one.
What a wallet pass is and how it works is explained in What is a wallet pass?. Everything about Walletap for gyms is on the Walletap Membership page, and the full documentation for memberships is in the Walletap docs.
What you need before you start
- Your gym's logo and colours.
- A phone or tablet with a camera at the front desk, or a Windows computer.
- The memberships you sell: length, number of visits and price.
- To take payments online, a Stripe account for the company the money goes to.
An entrance reader is optional. The card works without one.
Step 1: Set up your membership plans
A plan says how long a membership lasts, how many visits it includes and what it costs. For example:
- a monthly, quarterly or annual membership;
- a 10-visit card;
- a staff plan, whose card never expires.
A plan can also limit the number of entries per day. Plans you sell online are charged once or as a subscription that renews itself every plan length: monthly, every three months or yearly.
When a plan is applied to a card, the card gets the plan's name, its end date and a visit counter. Those values live on the card, so changing a plan's price later does not rewrite memberships already sold.
Step 2: The member gets the card in their wallet
The card reaches a member in one of three ways:
- At the front desk. Staff add the member in the Walletap app and choose a plan. The member gets a link by email and text message, or scans a QR code at the desk.
- Online. The member picks a plan in your gym's webshop, at an address like
shop.walletap.com/your-gym, and pays by card. The card is created as soon as the payment succeeds. - From your own system. If you run members in your own software, it issues the card through the Walletap API.
The member taps "Add to Apple Wallet" or "Add to Google Wallet" and the card is on their phone. No app, no password and no plastic card to order, print and hand over.
Step 3: Check-in at the front desk or at the entrance
At the front desk, staff scan the QR code on the member's card with a phone or tablet camera. A green check means the membership is valid. Under Valid Until, a line says how much time is left. It turns orange in the last week, which is the moment for the desk to offer a renewal. Every scan is recorded as a visit, and on a visit-based membership it uses one visit.
At the entrance, with the Entrance reader add-on, the member holds their phone to the reader with nobody at the desk. That takes:
- a certified NFC reader, which Walletap sets up when it is installed;
- the Entrance reader add-on on your Walletap plan;
- for iPhones, Apple's approval for NFC passes on your gym's own Apple Developer account. Cards in Google Wallet become tappable on their own.
The reader holds no member list. Every tap is decided online, at that moment: first the location's opening hours, then the membership. A renewal or a freeze counts from the next tap.
When a QR code is enough and when NFC pays off is covered in QR or NFC? How to choose the right technology for your wallet pass.
When a card is refused: what the desk and the reader show
| Membership state | Camera scan at the desk | Entrance reader |
|---|---|---|
| Valid | Green check, with the time left | Green light, check-in accepted |
| Ended | Pass expired | Pass Expired, red light |
| All visits used | Pass expired | Arrival Limit Exceeded, red light |
| Frozen | Pass not yet valid | Pass is Frozen, red light |
| Invalidated by hand, or by a cancelled or unpaid subscription | Pass has been invalidated | Pass Revoked, red light |
| Location closed, outside opening hours | Not checked | Closed, orange light (entrance reader only) |
| A second tap within five minutes | Does not apply | Let through without using another visit |
From the same scan result, the desk can renew the membership on the spot with Renew Membership. Staff cards are always valid, and the entrance reader accepts them outside opening hours too.
Step 4: Renewing a membership
A renewal gives the same card a new end date. The member gets no new card: the one in their wallet updates. You renew:
- at the front desk, in the app: choose the plan and the start, today or after the current end date;
- in the webshop, where a returning member chooses Existing Member, has their card scanned at the location and pays;
- automatically, with a subscription: each successful charge extends the card.
In the webshop, returning members should always choose Existing Member. New Member issues a new card, so the member would pay for a second one while the old one still reads as expired at the entrance. A sign at the desk next to the reader solves it.
You can also remind members before their membership ends. The Before expiry automated campaign sends a message to the card in their wallet a few days before the end date. When a membership ends, nothing is deleted: the card stays in the wallet showing its date, ready to be renewed.
How to send messages members actually want, and what GDPR says about them, is in the guide Push notifications from Wallet.
Step 5: Freezing a membership
An injury, a holiday, a semester abroad: you freeze the membership at the desk, in the app.
- The freeze starts today and lasts up to 365 days.
- While frozen, the card is refused at the desk and at the reader.
- The frozen days are added to the end date, so the member loses nothing.
- If the member comes back early, you unfreeze it, and the days not used come off the end date.
Unfreeze a membership before you renew it. A renewal leaves the freeze in place.
What it costs (as of 4 November 2026)
From €103 + VAT a month for one location (Starter €24 + Memberships €79), €79 for each further location; an entrance reader is €19 a month per reader, with the device and its installation quoted separately.
Memberships adds online payments for memberships and the webshop. The plans and what they include are on the Walletap Membership page.
In practice: Pro-Gym
Pro-Gym is the first gym chain in Croatia with fully contactless check-in through Apple Wallet and Google Wallet.
- 4 locations in Istria
- About 1 minute (median) from issuing a card to the card saved in the wallet
- 93% of members carry no plastic card
The full story is in the Pro-Gym case study.
Frequently asked questions
Can I add my gym membership card to Apple Wallet?
Only if your gym issues one. A card that works at the desk and at the entrance has to come from the gym, because the gym knows when your membership ends. Ask at the front desk: if your gym uses Walletap, you get the card from a link by email or text message, or by scanning a QR code.
Does a member need an app for a digital membership card?
No. The card is saved to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, which are already on the phone. The member taps "Add to Wallet" and the card is saved.
Does the gym need an entrance reader?
No. The front desk scans the card with a phone or tablet camera. An entrance reader is an add-on for check-in with a tap, with nobody at the desk.
How is a membership renewed?
At the front desk, in the gym’s webshop, or automatically with a subscription. The same card in the wallet gets a new end date, with no new card.
Can a membership be frozen?
Yes, for up to 365 days. While frozen, the card is refused, and the frozen days are added to the end date.
Want to see what your gym's card would look like? Get in touch and we'll show you one made for your gym. The details of plans, renewals and freezes are in the documentation.